Nashville celebrates Oktoberfest Oct. 3-6

If you go: There will of course be plenty of alcoholic beverages, but there's fun for the whole family.

• Breweries spanning from Nashville to Germany will be on hand to pour authentic Oktoberfest beers. There's also a whiskey tasting, a brat-eating contest and a strong-person competition to see who can hold the most beer steins all at once.
• There's a pup parade on Saturday and a dachshund derby on Sunday.
• Live music is planned throughout the festival. General admission tickets start at $10.

Yes, but: If you want a more low-key option for celebrating Oktoberfest, Nashville's craft breweries have honored the German-brewing tradition with a series of seasonal releases.

• Oktoberfest is an especially big deal at Barrique, the East Nashville craft brewery specializing in barrel-aged beers.
• I suggest their Märzen-style Rauchbier, an amber lager that features smoked malts. Barrique's special Oktoberfest release runs through Sunday.